Senna told in an interview that for the last 3 years he spent in F1, he was rarely happy about what he was doing.There were a lot of off-track political "fights" going on, and he never got a chance to prove himself under the same conditions / with the same material. He always had to defend and explain himself against things that were not true or people who made sure he didn't got what he wanted : a fair shot.

So in the process he lost his joy of racing. Although he had 1 solid offer for 2013 and a second "less" offer, he decided he had to break away. Throughout his career he has won several races, and been on the podium on several occasions. His last win was back in 2008 in GP2 and his last podium in 2009. That's what he wants to do, enjoy racing an win races. And that's why he felt he didn't want to accept the offers those 2 teams made.

He does say he won't ever rule out a return to F1 if the circumstances are right, but for now he has to experience the joy of racing again, which he believes will happen with Aston Martin.

Bruno has been one of the most approachable and kindest racers on the grid, and I always felt something wasn't right. So I do believe what he says and I really hope he has big fun this year.

I do think it's kinda sad how things went for him. His career has always been a difficult one, and a lot of people said he only made it because of the Senna name. Well, personally I think the Senna name did him more harm than good.

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2013 follower of :

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Last edited by XploZiV on Fri Feb 08, 2013 7:38 am, edited 1 time in total.

Senna told in an interview that for the last 3 years he spent in F1, he was rarely happy about what he was doing.There were a lot of off-track political "fights" going on, and he never got a chance to prove himself under the same conditions / with the same material. He always had to defend and explain himself against things that were not true or people who made sure he didn't got what he wanted : a fair shot.

So in the process he lost his joy of racing. Although he had 1 solid offer for 2013 and a second "less" offer, he decided he had to break away. Throughout his career he has won several races, and been on the podium on several occasions. His last win was back in 2008 in GP2 and his last podium in 2009. That's what he wants to do, enjoy racing an win races. And that's why he felt he didn't want to accept the offers those 2 teams made.

He does say he won't ever rule out a return to F1 if the circumstances are right, but for now he has to experience the joy of racing again, which he believes will happen with Aston Martin.

Bruno has been one of the most approachable and kindest racers on the grid, and I always felt something wasn't right. So I do believe what he says and I really hope he has big fun this year.

I do think it's kinda sad how things went for him. His career has always been a difficult one, and a lot of people said he only made it because of the Senna name. Well, personally I think the Senna name did him more harm than good.

I'm sure it's been a curse at times but overall I have to believe the name has helped him far more than it's harmed him in his journey to F1.

Also, we know F1 is a political place. You're always going to have to fight for your seat, particularly if you aren't performing. The harsh truth is that if Senna was a better driver he would have enjoyed it more. How many times do we hear a driver who just couldn't cut it complaining about unfair treatment, politics and conspiracy?

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Smart chap. Frankly he never looked at home in F1 to me, he didn't seem to want it enough even though I still think he's underrated. I wanted him to make it because he just seems so likeable, but it's the right thing to walk away, particularly as he's got a good drive lined up in a good series. Say's a lot about the man that he was having a miserable time but still came across as happier and more thoughtful than most of the grid.

Good luck to him. Hope he enjoys being a profesional racing driver more than being a pawn in a game he was never going to win.

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He proved in gp2 with little experience and no politics he out performed many who people believe better than him, while not f1 seems strange he was better in more equal machinery only to get to f1 and struggle, i think he is right in what he says. His biggest mistake was accepting hrt had he signed with force India in the first place before the brawn test (VJM said himself he wanted him that year but gave up because it looked a dead cert on Honda signing him) he would have been given a few years in what became a good midfield team and his career could have looked much different.

he will do well in WEC i think if he does he may get a drive back in F1 seats could open up depending on the veterans retirements meaning decent midfield drives could open up, but if not i think he will do well anyway he has already raised the profile of the WEC their followers have shot up on twitter and apparently sales for the 6hr at silverstone has had immense interest already compared to usual numbers.

So is he saying he wasn't given equal opportunity or equipment at Williams? I can't imagine that to be the case, what would Williams gain from that? I base my opinion on him as a driver on his time at Williams because he got a full season and appeared to get a fair shot. If that's not the case I may have to revise my opinion.

Its a shame really, he was just as good as Pastor in the Williams. Regardless of Pastor's win, Senna was the one bringing it home in the points consistently...

I do wonder if they'll live to regret their decision replacing him with Bottas.

He was nowhere near Pastor is terms of absolute performance. They brought pretty much the same amount of points but despite Maldonado crashing left, right and center he was showing what the car was capable of, Senna rarely was.

Its a shame really, he was just as good as Pastor in the Williams. Regardless of Pastor's win, Senna was the one bringing it home in the points consistently...

I do wonder if they'll live to regret their decision replacing him with Bottas.

He was nowhere near Pastor is terms of absolute performance. They brought pretty much the same amount of points but despite Maldonado crashing left, right and center he was showing what the car was capable of, Senna rarely was.

Performance is no good though is it if "crashing left, right and centre"

Sounds like he wasn't given equal equipment and strategy, or support. We don't know what the contracts dictated. But if there was some discrepancy then his results should be taken with a grain of salt. Can't know if what he says is true or just an attempt to sway public opinion though.

Its a shame really, he was just as good as Pastor in the Williams. Regardless of Pastor's win, Senna was the one bringing it home in the points consistently...

I do wonder if they'll live to regret their decision replacing him with Bottas.

He was nowhere near Pastor is terms of absolute performance. They brought pretty much the same amount of points but despite Maldonado crashing left, right and center he was showing what the car was capable of, Senna rarely was.

Performance is no good though is it if "crashing left, right and centre"

Maybe if Pastor wasn't so wreckless...

This is irrelevant to my point. Pastor was showing what the car can do, Senna was not. Multiple Q3s for Pastor, few top 5s in qualy. With a chance to fight for a podium in Spain (obviously), Valencia, Abu Dhabi and Singapore. Senna was nowhere near in terms of pace.

Its a shame really, he was just as good as Pastor in the Williams. Regardless of Pastor's win, Senna was the one bringing it home in the points consistently...

I do wonder if they'll live to regret their decision replacing him with Bottas.

He was nowhere near Pastor is terms of absolute performance. They brought pretty much the same amount of points but despite Maldonado crashing left, right and center he was showing what the car was capable of, Senna rarely was.

Performance is no good though is it if "crashing left, right and centre"

Maybe if Pastor wasn't so wreckless...

This is irrelevant to my point. Pastor was showing what the car can do, Senna was not. Multiple Q3s for Pastor, few top 5s in qualy. With a chance to fight for a podium in Spain (obviously), Valencia, Abu Dhabi and Singapore. Senna was nowhere near in terms of pace.

Ifs buts maybes. He spent more time in the wall than the points.

If we're playing what ifs... What if Ayrton hadn't died and Bruno wasn't held back years by his mother he probably would have had a smother ride into a better seat.

This is irrelevant to my point. Pastor was showing what the car can do, Senna was not. Multiple Q3s for Pastor, few top 5s in qualy. With a chance to fight for a podium in Spain (obviously), Valencia, Abu Dhabi and Singapore. Senna was nowhere near in terms of pace.

Ifs buts maybes. He spent more time in the wall than the points.

If we're playing what ifs... What if Ayrton hadn't died and Bruno wasn't held back years by his mother he probably would have had a smother ride into a better seat.

Are you deliberately not getting my point? No ifs, no buts. Pastor was faster than Senna. I am not saying Maldonado is the best thing since sliced break, I'm just saying that he's faster and unless Williams believe that no one in this world can match him they should look for better options than Senna.

This is irrelevant to my point. Pastor was showing what the car can do, Senna was not. Multiple Q3s for Pastor, few top 5s in qualy. With a chance to fight for a podium in Spain (obviously), Valencia, Abu Dhabi and Singapore. Senna was nowhere near in terms of pace.

Ifs buts maybes. He spent more time in the wall than the points.

If we're playing what ifs... What if Ayrton hadn't died and Bruno wasn't held back years by his mother he probably would have had a smother ride into a better seat.

Are you deliberately not getting my point? No ifs, no buts. Pastor was faster than Senna. I am not saying Maldonado is the best thing since sliced break, I'm just saying that he's faster and unless Williams believe that no one in this world can match him they should look for better options than Senna.

qualifying pace he was faster race pace they were level pegging there or there abouts. As for him trying to sway public opinion I can sort of agree but if you take into account that many consider him one of the nicest most honest and sincere approachable drivers within f1 seems less likely he would start to fabricate stories, he doesn't need to he has a loyal fan base and all within endurance racing seems delighted he is there he doesn't really need to sway peoples opinions as those in f1 that doubt him as a driver wont be following to endurance racing and most of those probably didn't see him in gp2 he looked the real deal i really thought we would see a senna on the f1 podium again, guess it wasn't to be.

Sounds like he wasn't given equal equipment and strategy, or support. We don't know what the contracts dictated. But if there was some discrepancy then his results should be taken with a grain of salt. Can't know if what he says is true or just an attempt to sway public opinion though.

Well, he barely ever got to take part in P1, which meant he had much less time than Pastor in the car nearly every race, and that couldn't be fun, particularly if you're trying to adjust to a new team and you're trying to learn tracks you haven't raced on for 2 years.

Feel a bit sorry for him, he was a decent driver IMO, wish him all the best in the future

This is irrelevant to my point. Pastor was showing what the car can do, Senna was not. Multiple Q3s for Pastor, few top 5s in qualy. With a chance to fight for a podium in Spain (obviously), Valencia, Abu Dhabi and Singapore. Senna was nowhere near in terms of pace.

Ifs buts maybes. He spent more time in the wall than the points.

If we're playing what ifs... What if Ayrton hadn't died and Bruno wasn't held back years by his mother he probably would have had a smother ride into a better seat.

Are you deliberately not getting my point? No ifs, no buts. Pastor was faster than Senna. I am not saying Maldonado is the best thing since sliced break, I'm just saying that he's faster and unless Williams believe that no one in this world can match him they should look for better options than Senna.

Pastor maybe faster than Senna in the car they were given, but it doesn't matter one bit in terms of result as Pastor has shown by being the undisputed crash champion.

Perhaps if hadn't been deprived of a quarter of his practice sessions (in order to get Bottas time in the FW34) throughout the year, he would have started further up the grid and improved on his finishes. It's hard to think that he wouldn't have scored appreciably better had he not been pulled for 15 FP1 sessions.

Can people stop with the Pastor crashing thing? Grosjean was the one who nearly decapitated Alonso. In 2012 Maldonado made maybe 3 errors? Swerving towards Perez, crashing under immense pressure in Melbourne and outbraking himself in Belgium when he rear-ended Glock. Even Schumacher made worse mistakes than some of those, rear-ending Senna in Barcelona and Vergne in Singapore. Pastor's matured an awful lot since the altercation with Perez.

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Can people stop with the Pastor crashing thing? Grosjean was the one who nearly decapitated Alonso. In 2012 Maldonado made maybe 3 errors? Swerving towards Perez, crashing under immense pressure in Melbourne and outbraking himself in Belgium when he rear-ended Glock. Even Schumacher made worse mistakes than some of those, rear-ending Senna in Barcelona and Vergne in Singapore. Pastor's matured an awful lot since the altercation with Perez.

Can people stop with the Pastor crashing thing? Grosjean was the one who nearly decapitated Alonso. In 2012 Maldonado made maybe 3 errors? Swerving towards Perez, crashing under immense pressure in Melbourne and outbraking himself in Belgium when he rear-ended Glock. Even Schumacher made worse mistakes than some of those, rear-ending Senna in Barcelona and Vergne in Singapore. Pastor's matured an awful lot since the altercation with Perez.

Wasn't there one in Silverstone when he took Sergio out?

True, forgot that one. Again I think that was outbraking himself, possibly on worn tyres but I don't recall.

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Can people stop with the Pastor crashing thing? Grosjean was the one who nearly decapitated Alonso. In 2012 Maldonado made maybe 3 errors? Swerving towards Perez, crashing under immense pressure in Melbourne and outbraking himself in Belgium when he rear-ended Glock. Even Schumacher made worse mistakes than some of those, rear-ending Senna in Barcelona and Vergne in Singapore. Pastor's matured an awful lot since the altercation with Perez.

taking out Hamilton in Valencia, nearly taking out senna in Austin had senna not yielded after being told to bring both cars home in the points. Yes he matured it seemed towards the end of the season but to be reckless is in his nature while wheel to wheel racing he is impulsive and impatient, over time it will improve yes but you cant deny he did cause accidents, the odd one (Perez) on purpose.

Agreed. His reaction when he realised he had missed giving an autograph to SDLRob - bearing in mind he is disabled - and literally running back down the pit box to sign one for him made me respect him an awful lot.

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This is irrelevant to my point. Pastor was showing what the car can do, Senna was not. Multiple Q3s for Pastor, few top 5s in qualy. With a chance to fight for a podium in Spain (obviously), Valencia, Abu Dhabi and Singapore. Senna was nowhere near in terms of pace.

Ifs buts maybes. He spent more time in the wall than the points.

If we're playing what ifs... What if Ayrton hadn't died and Bruno wasn't held back years by his mother he probably would have had a smother ride into a better seat.

Are you deliberately not getting my point? No ifs, no buts. Pastor was faster than Senna. I am not saying Maldonado is the best thing since sliced break, I'm just saying that he's faster and unless Williams believe that no one in this world can match him they should look for better options than Senna.

Exactly, you aren't going to win races by 23 other drivers crashing. Not all drivers are Pastor Maldonado.

So is he saying he wasn't given equal opportunity or equipment at Williams? I can't imagine that to be the case, what would Williams gain from that? I base my opinion on him as a driver on his time at Williams because he got a full season and appeared to get a fair shot. If that's not the case I may have to revise my opinion.

I guess that would be due to the fact he had to give up FP1 to Bottas, if he was really any good, given his budget, he wouldn't have been let go byWilliams

Its a shame really, he was just as good as Pastor in the Williams. Regardless of Pastor's win, Senna was the one bringing it home in the points consistently...

I do wonder if they'll live to regret their decision replacing him with Bottas.

He was nowhere near Pastor is terms of absolute performance. They brought pretty much the same amount of points but despite Maldonado crashing left, right and center he was showing what the car was capable of, Senna rarely was.

Performance is no good though is it if "crashing left, right and centre"

Maybe if Pastor wasn't so wreckless...

No it isn't but you've more chance of making a fast driver stop crashing than making a slow driver to go quicker

Can people stop with the Pastor crashing thing? Grosjean was the one who nearly decapitated Alonso. In 2012 Maldonado made maybe 3 errors? Swerving towards Perez, crashing under immense pressure in Melbourne and outbraking himself in Belgium when he rear-ended Glock. Even Schumacher made worse mistakes than some of those, rear-ending Senna in Barcelona and Vergne in Singapore. Pastor's matured an awful lot since the altercation with Perez.

Senna himself was involved, weaving left and right in Spain and braking early, colliding with Grosjean and then getting hit by Schumacher who was caught out.

Senna himself had his share of spins, collisions against other cars, as well over the season. He had three really good races in Malaysia, China, Hungary where he got 20 points. Other than that he was anonymous. Maldonado was generally faster but kept crashing into things.

Senna seemed to have some skill in the wet but all in all wasn't fast enough. To come out with these sort of comments comes across as rather brattish.

Wasn't he supposed to drive for Brawn in 2009? If I remember right when they realized the car was fast they kept Rubens for his experience. I where he would have been now if he got that drive.

If Jenson still went to Macca in 2010 Schumacher could have been Senna's teammate.

He would have been dominated by Button then let go by the end of the season to make way for the Schumacher/Rosberg combo

in testing he was between 1&2 tenths off button so put your crystal ball away you are using the Bruno senna you saw last year as a comparison the tyres were completely different then and because it was brawn he wouldn't have had to give up any track time. And 1-2 tenths off the following seasons wdc for a rookie isn't bad at all.

Wasn't he supposed to drive for Brawn in 2009? If I remember right when they realized the car was fast they kept Rubens for his experience. I where he would have been now if he got that drive.

If Jenson still went to Macca in 2010 Schumacher could have been Senna's teammate.

He would have been dominated by Button then let go by the end of the season to make way for the Schumacher/Rosberg combo

in testing he was between 1&2 tenths off button so put your crystal ball away you are using the Bruno senna you saw last year as a comparison the tyres were completely different then and because it was brawn he wouldn't have had to give up any track time. And 1-2 tenths off the following seasons wdc for a rookie isn't bad at all.

Yes but Schumacher was 5 tenths faster than Nico in 2010 testing, and was almost that amount slower at the first race.

Edit: I can't remember but I think that might have been at a track where Schumacher had done thousands of miles over the years and Nico had barely driven there, so that might have had something to do with it. So perhaps not the best comparison.

Wasn't he supposed to drive for Brawn in 2009? If I remember right when they realized the car was fast they kept Rubens for his experience. I where he would have been now if he got that drive.

If Jenson still went to Macca in 2010 Schumacher could have been Senna's teammate.

He would have been dominated by Button then let go by the end of the season to make way for the Schumacher/Rosberg combo

in testing he was between 1&2 tenths off button so put your crystal ball away you are using the Bruno senna you saw last year as a comparison the tyres were completely different then and because it was brawn he wouldn't have had to give up any track time. And 1-2 tenths off the following seasons wdc for a rookie isn't bad at all.

Yes but Schumacher was 5 tenths faster than Nico in 2010 testing, and was almost that amount slower at the first race.

Edit: I can't remember but I think that might have been at a track where Schumacher had done thousands of miles over the years and Nico had barely driven there, so that might have had something to do with it. So perhaps not the best comparison.

yes but senna and button times were driver comparison times to evaluate sennas performance so would have have the same or there abouts in terms of fuel loads and tyre conditions, Schumacher and rosberg would not have been driver evaluations but car testing so the same cannot be said.

Anyway, that's the way it went, the decision of keeping Barichello paid off for Brawn that season, so looks like they made the right call.

it strikes me as odd that Senna claims he has no joy in F1 anymore. I'm pretty sure he would love most to equal or top his uncle's results, at least for one year, for one race, one win, whatever. Driving in another series, even driving an Aston Martin, does not seem to be equal to that.Besides, F1 is all about politics; the only time you can probably relax is when you're already became WDC and you are in a good team with cash galore. Until then, everybody has its work cut out for him.

And seeing as several other drivers got the boot this season, making a comeback will be nearly a miracle. To my knowledge, once you're out you're usually out, which is why a F1 driver will basically take any opportunity which would grant him a race seat, hoping for a lucky break. Which is why I still say the opportunities Senna had with FI/Marussia/maybe Lotus were more like 3rd driver's seat.

I really do wish him all the best and I am glad he is at least racing competitively in 2013.The politics behind the sport are most likely the reason he has left (which in turn made him unhappy), had Bruno gotten a two year contract (which no team seemed to want to give him, only one year deals) he could have focused on improving his driving, rather than having to try and find a seat for the following year which for drivers not fighting for the WDC would take priority and I think everyone would have seen an improvement in his driving and his one lap pace as his race pace and race craft was very good.

This is where I probably fail to see Bruno's logic. IF he really would have gotten a race seat, even for one year, the best approach would have been to take the opportunity and give it all. No better way to secure a future seat than results.

This is where I probably fail to see Bruno's logic. IF he really would have gotten a race seat, even for one year, the best approach would have been to take the opportunity and give it all. No better way to secure a future seat than results.

but if as he said he didn't love the racing in f1 at the minute and wanted to enjoy racing again why not go elsewhere i think his main thing is he has had 3 frustrating seasons where he feels he hasn't had a fair go and probably felt like he was in a rut. Maybe a fresh challenge or scenery could help him discover his pre f1 form. I would like to think we haven't seen the last of him in f1 but who knows, he did seem excited about the prospect of being able to challenge foe victory though in le mans 24hr. Maybe the chance to win one of the original triple crown events was a big draw for him

Perhaps if hadn't been deprived of a quarter of his practice sessions (in order to get Bottas time in the FW34) throughout the year, he would have started further up the grid and improved on his finishes. It's hard to think that he wouldn't have scored appreciably better had he not been pulled for 15 FP1 sessions.

He signed the contract knowing he had to miss the FP sessions.

For his ability he did well to do 46 GP races, think GT is a good move for him and he probably gets a salary from it. Look where Kova, Koba, Algu got just looking for F1 drives, narrow minds only got you so far.